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Walki's new technology enables cost-efficient production of large volumes of furniture foil

Published:
28.06.2013

Walki has developed a new technology for producing an environmentally friendly, paper-based furniture foil. The new technique for applying UV lacquer and ink makes the surface on the furniture foil even more resistant without compromising lightness.

Walki's Consumer Packaging has successfully delivered foils for back panels for the furniture industry for several years. Because of the growing demand for high-quality furniture foils, Walki has developed a new technique for applying UV lacquer and ink, making the surface even more resistant while still maintaining lightness. – With our new enhanced technique for applying UV lacquer we will substantially improve the surface resistance, says Tomas Nyström, Project Manager Furniture Lining.

Large volumes cost-efficientlyNew equipment has been applied on a conventional Flexo printing machine. This new technique enhances the quality of the foil's barrier and improves the surface resistance.

In using a conventional Flexo printing machine, Walki is the first supplier in the world to produce large reels of furniture foil of up to 3,5 metres in width. The typical size is about 1,5 to 2,5 metres. – We can produce very large volumes in a very cost-efficient manner. We are talking about a high-capacity machine, says Jan-Anders Fagerhed, Technical Service & Development Manager.

Highly eco-friendlyThe base web is based on paper fibres, making it substantially more environmentally friendly than other alternatives on the market that are based on plastic foils and other artificial materials. The foil is also formaldehyde free.

The new technique also needs less colouring than other alternatives on the market, further enhancing its advantage from an environmental perspective. – Thanks to our new technique we are able to reach the same colour quality using less inks, says Nyström.

Walki can utilize its strong in-house knowledge of available paper qualities to help customers in choosing the right grade for the end purpose.

Further plans for enhancing the technology are already in the pipeline.– We are making continuous development efforts aiming to expand deliveries to other parts of the furniture industry in addition to back panels, says Jan-Anders Fagerhed.

Picture 1: Walki's new technique for applying UV lacquer is environmental-friendly as it requires less colouring than other alternatives on the market. Picture 2: Walki is now able to deliver very big volumes cost-efficiently.

About Walki GroupWalki Group is a leading producer of technical laminates and protective packaging materials, specializing in the production of fibre based, intelligent, multilaminate products for markets ranging from energy saving construction facings and construction membranes to barrier packaging applications. The Group has plants in Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, the UK, Russia and China with a workforce of about 950 people. Annual net sales for the Group are over 300 million Euros.